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PrologueShantou, January 3rd 1936.
The mist hung low over the port of Shantou in the Allegemeine Ostasiatische Gesellschaft. The weather was unseasonably cold, even for January as the coolies laboured to load the Dutch registered ship in the harbour as two figures stood by edge of the dock side. One of them was dressed in the navy blue jumper of a ship's captain and leant on the edge of the balustrade, looking over at the 'Jakarta' as he smoked a hand-rolled cigarette.
"We leave at the next tide, as requested." The other figure shifted and took a pull on the opium pipe he was openly smoking before rolling his shoulders with a glance around, before putting a hand into the pocket of his smoking jacket and taking out a watch.
"Will you be loaded fully by then? The entirety of this shipment must be in Rotterdam by the 23rd." The captain tilted his head to regard the man next to him before leaning over the balustrade and flicking ash into the choppy, black water below.
"The ship will be loaded in two hours, yes." The smoker checked his watch and then turned to walk down the edge of the dock toward the Lincoln K-series that had been idling quietly in the dark, as he did so the chauffeur carefully got out of the car and gracefully held the door open. As he got to the door a small smile crossed his face as he turned and looked to the captain quietly.
"See you in Hong Kong, Kapitein Jansse."

He leant back in the back seat of the Lincoln as he was driven to the airfield where he would catch the flight to Kowloon in the private plane and looked at the back of the chauffeur's head for a lingering moment.
"I spoke with the customs officials. They've been persuaded to forget about the Jakarta ever docking here. Looks like it's all going to plan."
The chauffeur nodded in reply, the shape of his head bobbing slightly in the shadows of the front of the car.
"Tres bien, the game is afoot."
"Indeed it is."

Out of CharacterFAQ

What is L'Homme dans L'Ombre?
L'Homme dans L'Ombre, or in English - The man in the shadows, is a conspiracy based AAR where up to nine posters will play characters working for the intelligence services of the Internationale. Together or separately they will seek to unravel the machiavellian plots of the man in the shadows, as well as overcome the challenges posed by him, his associates and the completely unconnected actions of the other intelligence agencies out there in the wonderful world of Kaiserreich. Think Indiana Jones combined with Foucault's Pendulum and you're beginning to get a taste of things. Events will unfold, but will the world be brought to it's knees by the Man in the Shadows?

How does it work?
I'll send weekly briefings on what's going on in the world (if the group aren't on some kind of mission which means you wouldn't get such) and make a concluding post for each turn in an AAR format, as well as drop some hints about what the Man in the Shadows is up to. You (the player) will discuss in your group what you're going to do, before sending me individual PM's detailing your actions. I'll then roll some dice, get back to you and then you can post an AAR segment if you want to. AAR segments will improve the odds of success later down the line (so if you write a nice piece on Week 1, you may succeed in something on week 2 thanks to the odds going your way when they might not have) but are optional. Finally when the time limit runs out for posting AAR's, I'll post the end of turn segment and it all starts over again.

How do I join?
Send in a character description and a brief biography, including 2 or more notable strengths and weaknesses.
This game will require some time commitment, at least to respond to events and reply to orders, so if you're a very busy person please don't join and then vanish after two weeks. AAR writing is encouraged but not necessary.

How long does a turn last?Turns will last for 7 days from the time of the briefings being sent. If this doesn't work, (too slow/fast) I'll adjust as necessary, but given the global nature of the participants, it'll probably go no lower than 3 days.

Anything else?
Please please PLEASE KEEP IT CIVIL in this thread. I am responsible for your behaviour whilst you are here, and I don't have a massive line of credit with regards to running up points via infractions over silly arguments.

Fabulous, hopefully there will be more folk interested, so do spread it around... but in the meantime, submit your characters in something like the format below via PM...

Example Character Sheet Submission

Name: Oswald Mosley

Side: Internationale (Britain)

Description: Dressed in a severe black shirt and smoking a filter-tipped cigarette, this man stands neatly attired and glancing around with sharp eyes. He keeps his arms folded as he looks about, though has a smile to spare to anyone who approaches him.

Biography: Former Baronet of Ancoats, Mosley defected to the Independant Labour Party in 1924 and thus was one of the few leaders of the British Parliament to survive the transition from Monarchy to Union intact. As a part of the Fabian society he developed an economic program throughout the thirties that he now looks set to implement in Britain.

Strengths: Grasp of Economics, Intelligent.

Weaknesses: Anti-Proletarian Background, Political Extremist.

Please note you will not be playing Ingame Minister level characters - you may attempt to guide policy or influence it, but the adventure aspect will mean that your interaction with economics and soldiers will be on the micro-scale (as in partaking in a battle or investigating a factory) rather than anything grand.

Sent a short-desc by visitor message. And it certainly seems that the slot counter is noting "mad popularity"

A short clarification, please. What is meant by "discuss in your group"? Interactive AARs, or any AARs as far as I'm aware, aren't allowed subsidiary threads or subforums. Are we supposed to discuss here in spoilers? Or interact via PM?

To any further prospective applicants, I would prefer to fill Mitteleuropa before considering the 10th slot. Thus limit yourselves for the time being, or send me two candidate sheets, incase you prefer one of the other sides.

Mitteleuropa also includes AoG and Mittelafrikan characters (though playing a european minority will involve some degree of trouble when dealing with white people, it could prove an advantage in certain locations

The above begs another question: how broadly are the blocs construed? Are Mitteleuropa, the Entente, and the Internationale confined to Germany's, Canada's, or France's respective alliances at gamestart, or do they extend to all the countries/factions that could reasonably be expected to end up affiliated with those alliances? AoG isn't part of Germany's alliance: is it part of Mitteleuropa? Bharatya isn't part of France's alliance: is it part of the Internationale? The Caribbean Federation is...Delhi is...South Africa is...well, I'm sure there's some non-north Atlantic country that could align with the Entente but is not part of Canada's alliance at gamestart. Are they part of the Entente?